Are they ready?

David the American and Carolyn the Canadian met in their first year in China in 2013. Carolyn thought David was “super nice” and David thought Carolyn was “intriguing”. At first, David was interested, but Carolyn wasn’t. Later, Carolyn got interested, but David wasn’t. Then, Carolyn prayed, and David got REALLY interested. However, David had already decided to return home, while Carolyn was staying in China. They prayed and asked God what to do. He told them he would bless them either way, but that it was going to be hard. They decided to go for it! But then things happened. They both were hurt and confused. Their relationship got harder and harder, and one day Carolyn found that she had lost all her feelings, and David all his confidence. No matter what they did, they couldn’t fix it. They asked God if this meant they should break up, but he never said so. So they continued, looking forward to how God’s blessing would take form. One day, when David was praying, God told him, “Whether she has feelings for you or not, what does that have to do with you? You are who I say you are.” It moved him so much that he went to Carolyn and said, “It doesn’t matter if you never have feelings for me again—I’ll be completely fine!” Carolyn herself had refused to buy into the widespread idea that she should just find someone who made her “happy”; instead, she believed that if Jesus can heal her from the hurt she'd experienced in their relationship, he could also restore her feelings, if they were necessary. As they steadied their faith in Jesus and stopped trying to tackle their issues, they began to experience freedom and enjoyment again in their relationship.

When it came time to decide whether to get married, they weren’t afraid. Whether they ended up together or not, God had already proven himself to them. When David proposed, Carolyn still didn't have a ton of feelings for him, but she said yes because she trusted that David had a firm foundation in God and they had already seen how He turns around even the most difficult and painful of situations. Even now, they know that they will face hard times ahead after marriage, but they also know who their Saviour is. “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” Isaiah 12:3